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Experimental Family Sculpture Workshop

What happens when artists and communities play with age-old techniques in new ways? In this hands-on workshop, clay, straw, willow, and bamboo became starting points for curiosity and collaboration. Rather than following fixed instructions, participants of all ages squished, twisted, knotted, and layered natural materials into evolving sculptural forms. The focus was on process, not product — exploring how making together can spark confidence, connection, and new understandings of reuse and return. Nothing was wasted: everything could be unmade, reshaped, or returned to the earth.

Research Area:
Adventures in Material and Space
Research Type:
Workshop
Client:
Warwick District Council’s “Ecofest” August 2025
Methodology:
Purpose: Understand how playful, materials-led making with clay, straw, willow, and bamboo fosters collaboration, confidence, sensory engagement, and attitudes to reuse/return — and how making the act of making visible draws in new audiences. Core questions: What kinds of interactions (people–materials, people–people) emerge when outcomes aren’t fixed? How does making the process visible (hands, textures, sounds, evolving forms) attract and engage new participants who might not usually join creative activity? How do participants describe the sensory experience (touch, sound, smell, resistance) of natural materials? What visible behaviours signal confidence, collaboration, and curiosity? How do “reuse and return” practices shape participants’ understanding of sustainability? What barriers to access or inclusion show up, and how can they be reduced?

Ecofest, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire -30 August 2025

Hands in clay – children and adults pressing, squishing, and shaping natural clay together.

Reuse and return – sculptures unmade, clay rehydrated, and materials ready to begin again.

From curiosity to clay-covered hands, sculpture emerged in unexpected forms.

Special thanks to participating artist Anne Forgan and photographer Andrew Moore. All photo credits to Andrew.

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